Soon after the story appeared, Queerty received the following “open letter to the porn industry” from a gay high school teacher who requested anonymity to protect his job. The teacher wrote he was concerned that adult companies would employ models who, while above the age of consent, were still in high school and perhaps not prepared for the consequences of being filmed having sex.

We’re posting the letter here along with the responses the teacher received when he emailed several porn companies with an earlier version.

Queerty posted about a SeanCody bareback performer named “Noel” and how his high school kicked when it learned about his film. I think this event should give us, the gay community (and all though gay4pay attachments), some pause. Everyone is an uproar about how wrong the school was, but few questioned whether Sean Cody did anything wrong. In fact, the company probably profited from the controversy significantly.

Did anyone question the porn industry’s standards? Yes, the young man was above the age of consent, but how close to child porn do we have to come before we set some boundaries?

I am big porn fan. I am also a high school teacher. If this situation would have arisen at my school, it would have put me as a gay man in a very delicate position. We teachers are under tremendous scrutiny these days.

You may see “Noel” as an adult, but those of us in the education community and most parents see all students in high school as kids until they graduate, regardless if they are 18 or not. Otherwise, the privileges they gain when becoming legal can be counterproductive to keeping them in school and on track to graduating.

Let’s not forget either what it look like to the non-gay community and to parents. See we told you. Those gays just want to recruit our kids. It’s bad enough that we appear to be constantly trying to convert straight men, but now we are going afterhigh school kids?

I would even accept shooting the scenes while in high school, but the releasing of them should have been held until he was graduated and all college admissions offerings were secure. We must be the adults. High school students think they are invincible and are sometimes blind to the consequences of their behavior.

Sean Cody should have assumed that Noel’s secret was going to come out inevitably and that he would suffer abuse from fellow students, at the very least. The situation could have been even worse for him.

It’s time that the gay porn industry takes a stand on something other than fighting over condoms, as important a cause as that is. There needs to be a promise to all of us educators and parents, that you will keep porn out of high school.

Sincerely,

Gay Teacher

Below is the response “Gay Teacher” received when he emailed his concerns SeanCody. In fact, SeanCody soon thereafter posted a second bareback scene featuring the same Noel. The adult film companies Hot House, Factory and Randy Blue responded that they did not employ high school students.

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119 Comments

I think the teacher is being pragmatic. He KNOWS that the problem is in society, for having prejudice towards porn stars. But he wants to do some damage control by begging the studios not to hire kids from High School.

I understand his point of view, but I do believe that if you want things to change, you must have some confrontation. People should defend their rights not to be discriminated against. And laws should ensure that people don’t lose their jobs in case they did porn.

Sex is natural and healthy, and tehre is nothing inherently wrong in filming two people making love.

My initial reaction was that the teacher’s position, while commendable, is unworkable in practice. I’m beginning to think he’s right, mostly because I couldn’t come up with any persuasive arguments against his position. Why not require documentation that the person has graduated high school (or has their GED equivalency) along with verification of their age? The issue of college admission would be solved, as offers are handed out long before graduation.

There may be a cost for companies to do this, but there’s no question to me that it would be outweighed by the benefits.

@Billy Budd: Discrimination, though it has a distinctly negative connotation, isn’t per se unlawful or even wrong. It depends what the grounds are for the discrimination. I can’t think of any statute, constitutional provision, or legal principle that would forbid me from refusing to hire former porn stars. Why should that not be the case?

I realize that it’s more than a bit hypocritical given that, yes, most of us watch and enjoy porn fairly regularly, but I can think of many legitimate, common-sense reasons why someone wouldn’t want to hire a former porn star. Suppose you’re a judge and need to hire a law clerk. Can you imagine how inappropriate it would look if you hired Mark Dalton (supposing he’s a lawyer) to write opinions for you and speak for your chambers? It would undermine the dignity and credibility of your court in the eyes of the public (and likely some of your peers), and it would thus hamper your effectiveness as a member of the judiciary.

What if you’re hiring a nanny for your nine-year-old? Would you really consider Jenna Jameson equally alongside Mary Poppins? I doubt it, and it wouldn’t be wrong or unreasonable of you to make that distinction.

I admit it’s not always fair or even rational, but image matters to people, and it’s the source of some of our deepest and most damning value judgments. And yet, I can think of no reason why it should be unlawful per se to refuse to hire former porn stars.

As the teacher pointed a number of important issues in his letter, the exploitation of the porn industry on the young teens. How they choose to market these teens and profit off of them regardless of the consequences, and how it affects these teens in their personal lives.

At least one of those things should have been addressed in their response. It’s no doubt that the controversy probably cause an influx in prevy gay men to subscribe just to look up “Noel”. So they will continue to make money off of him long after he’s out of high school. So really what was the rush to not wait a few months, because they have tons of older models, there really doesn’t seem to be one.

On top of that Sean Cody among other studios, are promoting unprotected gay sex with young people, showing that if people are in dire straits, that this may be their only option to earn money??? That’s also not a very good message to be sending to young people at all, especially young LGBTQ (whom tend to go into escorting and prostitution) or straight heterosexuals in the gay porn industry either who also may be on hard times. Maybe an alternative is needed, if you have the philosophy that they are old enough to have sex in front of a camera maybe they are also old enough to have a job where they can keep their clothes on behind the camera too. Just saying, there needs to be more options in the industry for these young people that are (and they are) being taken advantage of, at least working behind the scenes may not carry the same kind of negative problems as being in front of it would, and they could have a chance to weigh their options as far as getting in front of the camera at a later time.

The response itself was typical corporate smoke up ones ass, and who would expect less. Sean Cody will look after SeanCody’s interest, and if “Noel” is taken care of as a side effect they both win. Maybe they will adopt a different policy for highschoolers.. maybe not either way Sean Cody and other studios should be ashamed of themselves for taking advantage of these teens.

Over the years, it seems like I’ve read a couple of dozen stories about former porn stars wanting to become high school teachers. Or they succeed in getting hired as high school teachers, but inevitably get outed as former porn stars and a tremendous controversy ensues. I can’t imagine why that profession is such a magnet for former porn stars. Maybe they started in porn a few months too early, while still in high school, so the experience becomes a bit of a fetish?

(But I have to admit, my high school experience was such that I can’t imagine why anyone would want to be a high school teacher at all!)

In response to having show a graduation or GED. Not everyone graduates high school. I am glad that you are lucky enough to not have to make really tough choices in your life. I a man is old enough to go to war and kill people and vote for a president then he should also be allowed to make a porno.
Personally I think it is a bad idea for a young man to endanger his future with a socially unacceptable business choice but that implies that young men should only live their life by what others think is OK. Well that is also wrong. Where would the gay community be today if the gays didn’t fight back against authorities during the Stonewall riot. Young men learn from their mistakes, that is life.
Personally I against the porn industry promoting unsafe sex. It would be helpful if true sex education and condoms were available to all school students but society is so “sex scared” that no one wants to talk about the real life dangers of bareback sex. You want to help society? Get true sex education and condoms available to all kids so that they an make informed decisions and if they do decide on sex they will be able to do it safely. As a teen I would rather have taken my chances during sex then bear the social embarrassment of have to ask a store clerk for condoms that ares till often kept behind the registers.
Help our kids from the very start by being honest about embarrassing topics and making sure they have the knowledge and opportunities to make tough life decisions.

@litper: Just a wild guess here, but being called names like “fag” might inhibit him from being true to himself and admitting that he’s gay. It’s bad enough that he’s getting flak from the anti-gay crowd; he doesn’t need to get it from the gays too.

Some people get hung up on the “18 is an adult” mantra without noticing the way society often makes exceptions to that.

It’s easy to bring up the military but even in Vietnam War days, the draft was of 19 year olds. An 18 year old could enlist but nobody was forced to go until 19. As for today’s all-volunteer military, believe it or not they’re somewhat picky and they generally don’t even want you unless you’re a high school graduate.

The most glaring exception, of course: the drinking age is 21. (I agree it’s a self-defeating law that leads to binge drinking, but there you go, a major exception.) You can’t rent a car until you’re 25: probably not a law but just the cautious custom of rental companies, which porn producers could easily copy in a very minor way by waiting just a FEW months to exploit 18 year olds until after they’ve graduated.

@renly: He’s not insinuating anything of the kind. He’s saying it could be disruptive to a school full of giggling 15 year olds.

@Ben1033: Unless I’m very much mistaken, you need a GED or high school diploma to serve in any branch of the United States military. But even if you didn’t, what does that have to do with restrictions on pornographic actors? It is complete non sequitur.

In any event, your comparison between Stonewall and pornography is unpersuasive. Yes, the Stonewall rioters rebelled against convention, but you cannot conclude from it that all social conventions are thus equally illegitimate or wrong. There is a time and place to defy social convention just as there is a time and place to yield to it. Like it or not, part of growing up means coming to terms with the culture you live in and deciding for yourself which of its edicts you can accept. Pick your battles, otherwise the world will always be a war zone.

I think we can agree that, as a general principle, we would typically and rightly encourage someone to fight social convention when it forces him to compromise something that is intrinsic to his identity and sense of personhood. For example, a rule against hats in a courtroom would force me to take off my Nats cap, but it would almost certainly not extend to a Rabbi’s yarmulke – not just because of the First Amendment, but also because there is something fundamentally different about the two. A Rabbi’s yarmulke is a statement of his relationship with his god and represents a lifelong commitment to a set of deep moral and ethical beliefs. My Nats cap is just something I think looks cool and reminds me of DC. Yeah, I’d rather wear it, but I frankly don’t think the battle is worth fighting in the same way that say gay marriage or ENDA is.

To elide the distinction between fighting for the dignity of all gay people and fighting against restrictions to the right to have sex on film seems illogical to me. I guess you could argue that a person’s right to have sex on film is intrinsic to his personhood just as is the right for a gay man to exist as any other’s legal equal, but I don’t buy it. I don’t think that requiring a GED from porn actors infringes on their ability to realize themselves. I don’t see it as being untrue to yourself to refrain from acting in pornos in the same way that I would for a Rabbi to be forced to remove his yarmulke or for you to be forbidden to discuss your same-sex partner at work.

Also defending an 18 year olds “right” to work in the porn industry is simply allowing him to cop-out of getting a REAL job. Being in the porn industry isn’t a job at all and it’s just an escape from reality.

@renly: As a 28 year old who used to be a 18 year old, insinuating that, though you’re 18/19, your brain is developed enough to make mature, educated decisions that aren’t grounded on the naivete of youth is ridiculous.

Jesus Christ. This performer is just a kid. Although he’s of leagal age, perhaps Sean Cody should consider the precarious situation a lot of these youths are in. There’s no going back with porn. Maybe in the moment the money and decision are rationale, but when you’re an adult, and you’re not in your 20s anymore and you’re losing your looks and you need to get a job…it’s a decision that’s probably going to haunt you. It’s not the end of the world by any means, but there are certain challenges these individuals are going to face. Not everyone becomes a Sasha Grey or a Brent Corrigan. No judgment on my end, but it is a complicated situation these people face.

Queerty you guys may want to go back, and make some small corrections in your post. And I almost got lost with the teachers letter. You should have done an introduction to the teachers letter. That being said, I don’t agree with thei teacher or his letter. The teacher needs to ” learn” to stay in his place. He is the teacher, not this boys parent. The law,and state of California give the boy,and Sean Cody the right to be employer and employee. Regardless of who bitch,moan or write letters. And the teacher with all his concern about an adult company hiring models, 18,but still in HS, and perhaps not prepared for the consequences of being filmed having sex. Maybe so. But guess what teach? That’s life, and his choice to make. And teach says he’s a big fan of porn. If this teacher watches. 18/19 having sex, ( which he probably is) and is getting off, he’s the biggest hypocrite. And if this teacher is single and if some hot 18-yr-old, still in HS,approached him, and all these other posters for sex, I bet very few will turn that 18-yr-old down. If he were emotionally stable or not. If this teacher really wants to make achange, climb the right tree. Talk to the politicians, legislators,lawyers. Get petitions going to see if you can get laws changed or amended to force porn companies to wait until a model finish high school before his/her work can be released.

If you’re over 18 you’re over 18. People need to quit trying to micromanage other people’s lives. You get to lead yours, and they get to lead theirs.

Also, don’t bring up child pornography if it doesn’t apply. I’ve seen people bring it up even when the subject in question was over thirty, but someone thought he was young looking. Keep quiet when you don’t have a real argument.

@Ridpathos: I’ve done porn and it sure felt like a real job. People think it’s just all fun and games and that’s the fantasy they try to create. However, it was long days on set. Half day for filming and the other half for stills.

I think the teacher’s points are all really commendable and understandable. High school students are often not mature enough to understand possible consequences and implications of their actions. That being said, I still haven’t come across a feasible alternative to the current law of an adult 18+ years of age being able to do porn. Should we require a high school diploma or GED to perform porn? Well, what about those who dropped out? Oh, well they’re the exception…then what is an acceptable age for them to start doing porn? Up the age to 21? Well, then we’ve created an illicit and profitable niche of porn by designating an arbitrary legal age.

Sean Cody does have a responsibility to their clients. Ideally. But let’s not forget how capitalism works. They see a hot 18 year old boy and they see profit. What else do you expect?

@Tackle: My own experience from doing porn was that I wasn’t ready for it at all. I’m naturally a very private person. I was just a dumb kid who had a big d*ck. I saw a friend doing it and naturally wanted some fun for myself too. Never realizing the full implications of what I was doing.

Walking into book stores many years later and seeing my face and goods on magazines, postcards. For years my image was used for some West Hollywood night clubs. I felt violated over and over. Once you sign that release though there’s nothing you can do.

Not to mention all the evil gay men who seemed to delight in using it against me if I didn’t have sex with them. It ruined every relationship I ever had. I’ve been threatened with having images sent to my family too. TG that never happened.

I only did about 4 or 5 scenes/movies in what amounted to one summer but that sh*t will follow you forever. I’ve actually embraced getting older only so I don’t get recognized anymore.

I mostly agree with the “Gay Teacher”. High School really is an important milestone, and an 18 year old isn’t even allowed to enlist in the military until they’ve graduated or have a GED. For the sake of avoiding potential legal trouble alone, I would think porn studios would prefer to hire performers who are at least responsible enough to graduate. Ultimately I think the bigger issue is that for every person still in high school who manages to get hired by a studio, there are more who resort to craigslist etc for quick cash.

Where is this teacher’s letter against the U.S. military for recruiting 18-year olds to kill and be killed for the government? (And they actually shamelessly call it “recruiting”, for heavens’ sake!) Compared to that, what is a little porn?

I find it disgusting… Everyone here knows that this kids life,outside of porn, is pretty much ruin… This will follow him for the rest of his life… But as long as old men are obsess with teenagers this will keep going on.

@vive: I agree with your sentiment, but it’s just not what he’s addressing in the letter. Maybe he does strongly disagree with the recruitment of 18 year olds into the military. But, yes, doing porn is nothing compared to killing, ptsd due to war, getting killed, etc. Our nation, in this regard, is quite backwards. *sigh*

@vive: Get real about the American caste system. If this kid and his teacher are at a typical suburban, upper middle class, almost all-white high school, nobody from there is going into the military at all. That’s for poor kids who went to lousy high schools (like me).

But several people here have already addressed your non sequitur. The military today won’t even consider them until they’ve graduated, which is the relevant analogy here. Oh well, 40% of them will be too FAT to get in anyway – or do porn either I guess – so maybe McDonald’s & Burger King are protecting our nation’s youth from being exploited by either porn OR the military!

Apparently at 18 he wasn’t smart enough an adult to realize him taking raw dick on camera for one of the most popular porn companies in the US would get out to the public and cause him and his family problems.

@vive: That may be so, but people don’t usually *choose* to work at McDonalds, Walmart or even enlist in the military the way people choose to do porn. Working class positions in the service sector and enlisting in the military are usually dictated by socioeconomic background, which is Ben Dover’s point. And it’s not that cool to look down your nose at working class jobs.

I emphasize with some of what he’s saying, but shouldn’t the teacher be writing a lawmaker if he feels so strongly about this, rather than a porn company? And advocating as much for 18 year old girls as for 18 year old gay boys? Nationally, the age of consent is 18. That means it’s 18. It doesn’t mean that it’s “18, but you get to treat those who meet that law like they’re doing something illegal.” If you want 18 to be illegal, get lawmakers to make it illegal. The teacher asks: “Yes, the young man was above the age of consent, but how close to child porn do we have to come before we set some boundaries?” Well, our country has set an answer to that question and “how close” is 18. That’s where the boundary is set. If you want that law to be changed, don’t waste time contacting a porn company. If you think 18 years old should be classified as “child porn,” then make that argument to lawmakers and ask them to change the law. They won’t, because two-thirds of those lawmakers themselves probably regularly watch the kazillions of heterosexual “Barely Legal” porn flicks out there made by countless hetero studios starring 18 year old high school age girls, but maybe you want to raise the issue with them, rather than making it all about the one gay kid, and this one gay porn company. Why should this kid or this company be asked to meet demands that aren’t simultaneously being pressed on the heterosexual community? If you think 18 is too young, write your congressman, not Sean Cody.

He’s not middle class, he’s poor. He claims he did porn to help pay his mother’s medical bills, and his mother has actually backed him up so it might even be true.

At some point in our lives we all have to make decisions that have no turning back. I know a lot of people regret their youthful porn career, but a lot of people don’t. I’ve know more than one person who saw sex work as the difference between college and McDonalds. To me it seems roughly comparable to going to a cheaper college as opposed to a prestigious college, or to joining the military, or even to getting married. Maybe he isn’t smart enough to be comprehend absolutely everything that will come of this. But we all knew in advance what was going to happen, we wouldn’t need laws like the one that says it’s legal to do porn at 18.

I am favorable to an early age of consent, like it is done in northern Europe. Sex should be almost as natural as eating. Almost.

I am not a pedophile, if that is what you are thinking. The youngest boy I have ever had was 19 yo. I believe that a very young person should have sex with another young person. I do believe that a 14 yo girl or boy should have the right to have sex with her or his boyfriend. Sex is good for them. It is the natural thing to do.

OK I might not be popular but I agree with the teacher. Yes 18 is the legal age for many things…but how about alcohol? Cigarettes in some states? I am a child psychiatric nurse. I have personally seen the damage done by similar situations to the one of Noel. I know the reasons that many 18 year olds are working in the porn industry.They are victims of physical and sexual abuse, poverty and homelessness.
Many different business’ have codes and laws regulating them. Porn is ripe for regulation. I understand that an 18 year old has the right to have consenual sex. That is very different from working in the porn industry. I am not totally precluding them from working in the business. I feel there should be move education and oversight at the least. I am writing the SeanCody just to give my opinion…here is the letter I am sending…..

Hello to whom it may concern,

I am a 48 year old Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nurse. I am very disturbed by your policies related to actors who are still in high school. I have seen articles related to “Noels” situation posted on two different gay news sites. I have been working with at risk youth for over 12 years. While I understand that age 18 is the age of consent, I would like to inform you that any person in High School is considered still a patient of Adolescent care. I have seen several “Noels” in my career. I work inpatient and cannot explain the harm your industry are doing to theses adolescents. I KNOW the corporation that is Sean Cody probably does not recognize this as an issue. I am sure you do not want members of the gay community to make this an issue within the community or engage the general public.
I know that many of the actors you have are vulnerable due to the conditions in which they were raised. The adolescents (up to age 19 if still in high school) are especially suggestive and very easy to manipulate into situations that are unhealthy for them. I am taken by a story of a former porn star now dying of AIDS at 24. He started in porn at a very young age and is now realizing the consequences. At 18 his immediate needs of money (like Noel) or acceptance caused him to make poor decisions. When hiring very young actors (age 18, maybe even 19) you should provide EXTRA Education about the dangers of unprotected sex. I understand that people get into porn for many reasons, I am not naive. I understand that other companies are hiring similar actors. I will say that you are the most recognizable company I can think of hiring such actors. I was appalled to read that you released addition footage of Noel. I believe this was a poor business decision after reading or hearing of the consequence that Noel suffered after the first release .

I respect escorts because they bring happiness to lonely people. I respect porn stars because they fulfill our fantasies. These guys should be treated with respect. They just use their bodies for the greater good. I wouldn’t say it is a noble profession, because some of them use drugs and sometimes are involved with crime.

I hired escorts a few times, when I was experimenting with my sexuality (I initially dated only girls), and I treated them as friends, with all respect. And I did compliment on their services even when it was lousy.

I tend to agree with SeanBear. Having sex with your boyfriend/girlfriend is one thing. Working in the sex industry is another. Maybe there should be TWO ages of consent. A very early age for love relationships and a much higher age for sex work. I would agree with that.

@Derek Hey buddy you got your comment in before me! 🙂 You are absolutely correct. Remember, the bottom and I mean the bottom line is that everything in the capitalist system is about MONEY. Unless the age of consent is raised in the porn industry, that industry will recruit and feature “just barely 18” high school girls and boys (yes they are girls and boys) often in dangerous circumstances (no protection) with -any- regard to the welfare of that girl or boy. This why they have lots of lawyers. Just the gay side of the industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and the pornographers are thinking ONLY about how much money they can make off of their wares and “performers”. I am not here to say, get rid of porn, but if we want them to stop using high-school kids, we must make it -unprofitable- for them to do so. If the legal fees are so high and the number of convictions so punishing (actual monetary and criminal punishment) that it is no longer profitable to recruit and use high-school kids, they will then and only then stop doing it. Raise the age of consent to vote, drink, and appear in a porn to 21.

@SeanBear: Yes, those were exactly the concerns I was expecting the teacher to raise, and I completely agree.

It surprised me that the teacher’s line of argument was more along the lines of “This makes us look bad to the straights, plus I want to be able to use porn without having to fear the embarrassment of meeting one of the models in class the next morning.”

I think that a 21 year old can look like a teenager and do porn without any restrictions. I think that there would be absolutely no change in the LOOK of porn. Anyone who has “Barely Legal” fantasies or desires will still have the material they want. I am a very liberal guy. I just feel that there is a great amount of manipulation by these HUGE companies. It bothers me to think they revel in the fact they can state they have the youngest models with total disregard for the individual. OK enough from me….THANKS

@SeanBear: I also agree with the teacher — I disagree with some of his reasoning, but I agree with the overall sentiment that 18 is too young for porn. I base this on my psychology studies and seven years of work in a high school. The male brain does not stop maturing until age 25-30. 18 year olds are legal adults, but most do not have the cognitive or emotional capacity to make an informed decision to appear in porn, a choice with far reaching outcomes.

I think if most people here thought back to when they were 18, they will realize how immature they were. It would reflect well on gay porn companies to think about this as well, and refrain from using models who are so young. But it is the responsibility of legal adults need to police themselves.

An 18 year old is a legal adult, so the school’s reaction was inappropriate. Yes, those of us who are educators and mental health workers know that 18 year olds are really adults-in-name-only (in my achool, we referred to them as adult children). The age 18 cutoff is arbitrary and meaningless: what is the difference between a kid who is 17 years and 11 months and one who is 18? None, they are both really, really immature. What is needed is more psychoeducation of parents and teenagers about human development so that they can make informed choices.

But it’s like I told my 18 year old students: as a legal adult they are obligated to own the positive and negative outcomes of their choices. Schools should inform, educate, counsel — but they cannot dictate an adult child’s employment. Making the best of bad decisions made by adult children — in this case ensuring a safe and distraction-free learning environment despite having a student working in porn — is part of the job.

Jesus Christ, now we’re going to raise the voting age to 21?! When is this bullshit going to stop? Enough with the infantilization of young adults. Other countries are moving towards lowering the voting age to 16. I get that brain development may not be complete until your twenties, but that doesn’t mean your brain is completely undeveloped before then. Most young adults are perfectly capable of deciding not to get involved with bareback porn. How do we know that? Because they don’t do it. Age limits shouldn’t be based on eliminating every possibility of screwing up, otherwise people wouldn’t be allowed to leave their parents’ house until their mid-40s, and even that wouldn’t be a guarantee.

The argument saying that teenagers don’t have brains developed enough to make this decision is lame. Many juveniles that commit murder are tried as adults. This is why no amount of bitching on the public’s part will change the laws about the minimum age for appearing in porn.

It is not true that many children are tried in adult court — most children are not. The few child criminals who are transferred to adult courts are the most violent offenders for reasons that very often include political posturing. But the aggressiveness of the criminal justice system towards violent child criminals is irrelevant as to the fitness of kids to decide whether or not to appear in pornographic films.

Laws regarding the age of majority are not going to change not because a handful of children mature quicker than the rest, but because the cutoff is arbitrary. It means nothing, and it certainly has diddly squat to do with infantalization. Teenagers are quite obviously potty trained; that does not mean they are cognitively and emotionally mature relative to adults.

Kids who are of legal age certainly have to take responsibility for their screw ups — but without the counsel and guidance of adults quite a bit more would be screwing up in dangerous ways on a daily basis. They “don’t do it” precisely because there are adults around to mitigate their worst instincts. If all the world’s adults were to vanish suddenly, the behavior of the kids left behind would in short order make Lord of the Flies look like a walk in park. They are wonderful individually and dense as rocks as a group.

In my opinion, the school was justified in suspending this kid. The issue of whether porn work is disreputable/legitimate is besides the point. It is completely forseeable that a high school porn star will cause a lot of gossip, discussion, distraction, etc. at the school. And when that occurs, the school has the right to punish the student. This is supported by Supreme Court precedent in the First Amendment realm. “Noel” chose to do this, and he must reap the consequences.
As for Sean Cody, it is laughable that they somehow owe some duty to their performers to guide them in their life decisions. Porn studios aren’t guidance counselors or college advisors.

@rhino79: The kid IS NOT TO BLAME. His actions caused a lot of gossip and distraction, but that is other people’s fault. He should not be punished because of other people’s prejudices. He has a legal right to do the video and he should not be punished because of it.

If two guys kiss in public, it will cause gossip and distraction. Should they be prohibited to kiss in public? According to your ridiculous logic, yes.

@mph2014: An 18-year-old criminal would be tried in adult court, but courts most certainly would take into consideration the maturity level of such a defendant. The comparison does not do the porn industry any favors at any rate, since it suggests that in both cases the child in question is up to no good.

The porn industry should police itself in these regards for its own good. Porn stars are constantly whining about how they are not taken seriously and how they are stigmatized and the industry frowned upon, and people are “prejudiced” against them. Well, perhaps one of the reasons so many adults consider the industry sordid and irresponsible is because studios like Sean Cody think its okay to exploit emotionally immature 18-year-old kids.

An 18 year old may be a legal adult, but reputable businesses are not going to hire an 18-year-old to for immediate work in management or decision-making positions — why? Because they do not have the maturity or experience to handle it. If porn studios must hire 18-year-olds, why not start them as fluffers or something of that nature? But if they are willing to take advantage of the cognitive vulnerability of kids for rank financial reasons, they can at least spare us the complaints when their industry is slammed as mercenary and sleazy. They can’t have it both ways.

I know some gays are operating under the delusion that they live in anything goes lala land, but that’s not how the real world works. It is not illegal, for example, to walk around in a bikini, but schools are well within their rights to impose dress codes to avoid such distractions. They were out of line here because his job had nothing to do with school. But he is not blameless. Again, porn workers cannot have it both ways. He cannot be both capable of making the decision to work in porn and some innocent, pure as the noonday snow victim of prejudiced gossip. Unless you live in Shangri-la.

If you want these porn companies to behave responsibly. Easy, pass regulations that they must pay the performers for reusing their scenes, for using their images for additional adds outside the original scene etc…

Those companies will act responsibility if they had to pay like any other entertainment company for every time they use that performers image. And if somebody DID feel that they made a mistake when they were 18 because their image shows up…..well at least every time it DID show up they would be getting a check.

I’m sorry, but this letter embodies the reasoning behind the old saying about the road to hell being paved with good intentions. Badly written ( I hope not only that he’s not teaching English, but that he’s not teaching ANY subject IN English, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he might be writing from another country. If not, I highly doubt he even is a teacher.). I disagree with pretty much all his arguments. Such problematic reasoning merited nothing better than Sean Cody’s curt but on-the-mark reply. I wonder if the only reason this “teacher” has been taken at all seriously is because Americans tend to sentimentalize the profession while simultaneously not treating its practitioners too well in terms of salary and benefits.

@Billy Budd: No, I am not wrong in my arguments. A public place and a school are two very different places. Two people can kiss in public without consequence. Two people making out in a school classroom will be disciplined for it. Teachers and school administrators are tasked with ensuring a disciplined, distraction-free learning environment. Students don’t have the right to do whatever they feel like doing if it has a negative effect on the school environment.

@rhino79: Please explain how punishing a legal adult on campus for engaging in protected speech off campus is in keeping with the Supreme Court’s First Amendment case law. Garden variety adult pornography is protected by the First Amendment, and public school students are as well. Schools do have a somewhat easier time lawfully suppressing student speech than the government, but they still have to overcome a very high bar.

There is plenty of precedent for having age restrictions for certain occupations. Examples: most people have their driver’s license by the time they’re 18, but in most states you can’t drive a school bus until you’re at least 21. Not only do they not want a student driving a bus full of his classmates, it would make their insurance premiums go through the roof. An 18 year old can be employed by the police department in any number of different ways (building maintenance, vehicle maintenance, beach lifeguard) but they’re not going to hire you as a patrol officer until you’re at least 21. In The Netherlands, where prostitution is legal, they are considering raising the minimum age from 18 to 21.

So 18 is too young to do pornos but not too young to vote, sign a contract, get credit cards or loans, enlist in the military, risk your life as a police officer or firefighter, get married, donate an organ, but a gun, and many other things? I’m, ok

It’s funny how the “high school kid” actors on mainstream TV shows are always in their late 20s or even 30s – RIP Corey Monteith! – but in the porn industry they MUST have verisimilitude and have real, actual 18 year olds.

And they must have 18 + one day year olds who are still in high school, NOT washed-up 18 and 1/2 year olds who have actually graduated from high school! Yuck – where’s the fun in THAT? Even to think about such a draconian restriction would be an affront on our constitutional right to drool over them… I mean, for them to make cool adult rational decisions!

@sportyguy1983: Please name a police department in the United States that would hire an 18 year old as a police officer — especially an 18 year old who hasn’t graduated from high school (as is the case with the 18 year old we’re discussing).

As far as the military is concerned, I would be 100% in favor of raising the minimum age to 21, or even higher.

Your example only works if the kid was filming a porno on campus. Otherwise, you don’t get to use the excuse that something legal they did outside campus is distracting and therefore they must be kicked out.

It’s an old Admin cop out because they don’t REALLY want to take the effort to deal with the kids who are going after the kid.

@sportyguy1983: As far as border control is concerned, my understanding is that they also require a diploma and/or a few years of relevant work experience. Hard to imagine that an 18 year old who hasn’t yet graduated from high school would have the experience they’re looking for…

Sean Cody’s “response” is a chicken shit answer. They are dangerously close to child porn with what they did there. I never liked that site because of all the men who are “straight” that like having sex with men.That seems so fake and creepy to me.
Does not surprise me they would use an 18 year old who is still in high school. Creepy yet legal I guess. I watched a few minutes of 2 of their videos and do not think I could ever stomach another. For the little bit that “Kid” was paid I wonder when he is 40 how he will feel about the video.

Attitudes are changing and will continue to change. In 10 or 20 years, no one will bat an eye if someone has a porn past. It doesn’t matter and it shouldn’t matter. It’s the “sex is evil” stigma, left over from the puritans, which is dying a very slow death here in the US.

At least with Obamacare his HIV meds will be paid for by his mom’s insurance until his 27th birthday… when he REALLY becomes an adult, nowadays. “God” forbid his employer should pay for insurance. (Sean Cody is not so different from Walmart after all!)

Look, if the high school teacher was outed by someone (a student or another teacher), depending on which state he’s in, he could say it’s none of your business. If anyone asks Noel about what he’s doing in his free time, e.g., away from school, he can say, it’s none of your business.

@Ben Dover: How big do you think this pool of 18 year old porn performers in high school is?

You know, I don’t hear too much crying about the other performers who DO look younger than 18. People, google “gay porn twinks” and feast your eyes. Then do what the high school teacher does, imagine that they’re all in his freshman English class.

OK for all who mention the right to vote, military ect. What is the legal age to drink alcohol ? Many states have put major restrictions on drivers below the age of 20. Many states you cannot buy cigarettes at 18. These are all risky behaviors that are regulated until in most cases the age of 21. I am talking about risky behaviors WITHOUT benefit. An 18 year old going into the service might be considered risky, but the actual risk (for most) is limited and the benefits can be great. The amount of soldiers sent to the “Hot Spots” during the war was relativity low verses the total enlisted in all branches of the service.The military provides training, education, health benefits and retirement. What does porn offer? There are no figures of how many individuals (Either sex) under the age of 21 are employed in the porn business, so it is difficult to say how many individuals are affected. I will stay away from the barebacking issue, except,an 18 year old is much easier to influence into doing it than a 21 year old. It would be interesting to see what the HIV rates of individuals who started young in the industry versus those who were older (21 +).
So in closing MANY risky behaviors are regulated until 21. Behaviors that have low risk of harm or have a POTENTIAL for a favorable RISK vs Benefit are allowed.

@SeanBear: First of all, I disagree with our draconian age restrictions on alcohol in the US. We are almost alone in the world, with maybe one or two other countries having such a high drinking age.

I also disagree somewhat with your characterization of the reasons for current age restrictions for alcohol. I think they have more to do with protecting other people from young adults than protecting young adults themselves. When MADD successfully pushed for raising the drinking age in the 1980s, the reason given was to reduce drunk driving. While some of the concern around drunk driving is around the drunk driver himself, it’s mostly about his innocent victims.

I have a big problem with not allowing an adult to make his own decisions. If they screw up, they screw up. If something turns out to be so dangerous that it requires regulations, then those regulations should apply to everyone, not just a few. Singling out a group of people and restricting their freedom is discriminatory. Discrimination is wrong.

One of the reasons this bothers me so much is because I remember what it was like to be an 18-20 year old and not being able to buy alcohol or go to bars. I was never a big drinker and am still not (I have a single drink maybe twice a year), but it really really pissed me off that I was considered an adult but still discriminated against. Maybe I was pissed off precisely because I was responsible and would not have caused problems to myself or others. I know some people think it’s a meaningless, minor inconvenience, but I never did. I’m still pissed off about it many years later.

If you think that getting into porn, escorting or prostitution is somehow “exciting” and is a legitimate alternative to work, at any age, you need to read the book Escort: 40 Profiles with Photographs of Men Who Sell Sex (authored by David Leddick and superbly photographed by Miami photographer David Vance.

While there are a “few” stories of good coming from the business of sex (one escort actually supports his mother and family in South America…but they don’t know what he does).

I read the entire book. Some “escorts” were in the biz to pay off credit card debt. Some were “saving” for something. Some had scary drug stories.

Either way, the front of the camera isn’t necessarily glamourous. And with the internet, it will haunt you well past the day you die.

I have done my best to try to skim all this dialog. I noticed one thing. NOT one person mention Britain’s age of consent law. It’s 15. Yeah. 15. And I was driving a Tractor at age 9 and a truck at 11. I doubt that either age has to do with if a person is adult enough to fully understand sex or not and the consciences of being filmed having sex. Plus, not one person has mention that a girl @ age 14 can be married to some old guy in their 60’s in some parts of the south. Your going to tell me that a 14 year old knows what their doing or this is not abuse? But object to their marriage, and you got trouble on your hands. All I am saying is there a bunch of double standards on this subject.

What is it with this infantilization of young people? It appears to be a fetish of the times. College students now act like high school sophomores. Young adults in the working world still behave like children. Reliance upon mommy and daddy well into adulthood has become de rigeur. When I became an adult, I was very much aware of that fact and understood what it meant. Has something changed in the DNA that we must now perceive young people as hapless infants?

As a society we have determined that 18 is the age of majority. Before that age, you are not permitted to enter into any contracts, are not emancipated from your parents (unless by court order), have restricted driving privileges, and must attend school. At 18, you are legally freed from those constraints and are given the full rights and responsibilities of adulthood. (Bear in mind the age of consent is generally 16 in the US, not 18.) However, the chorus here calls for stunting the development of young people by declaring them incapable of exercising their rights. It’s a reflection of the moral conservatism of our present society and it is small-minded. None of the comments raise issues such as preparing kids in HS for the adult world (including understanding basic civics) so they make good decisions. No, the answer is to infantilize them instead. How lazy and uninformed.

This pearl clutching HS teacher interestingly enough is not disturbed enough by the prosecution of children as adults (a real social problem if one is concerned for young people) to raise his voice on that issue. Oh, no. I suspect his motives are not altruistic, but personal. This is really only a moralist fearing that the spotlight created by Noel will eventually land on him as a gay teacher- to defend perhaps his love of gay porn? Furthermore, as a teacher, it is his responsibility to help transition his students from childhood to adulthood. Clearly, he either fails to comprehend this responsibility or concedes his own (and his colleagues’) failure at it.

As for the stigma that will follow him for the rest of his life, I think that it probably overstated. Kids and young adults today post all kinds of inappropriate behavior/photos/videos on the internet. In 10 years or so, we are likely to have collectively reached the sensible conclusion that youthful indiscretions should not be a barrier to future success. Frankly, we will have no choice to do otherwise.

@DK: I’m sorry, but your argument is foolish and foments the problem you are trying to address. If male brains are not developed until 25-30, should we not then also prohibit driving privileges? obtaining full-time employment in law enforcement, fire protection, working with heavy machinery, etc.? Obtaining a professional license? Based upon your reasoning, the answer should be yes.

@jar: No, your argument is ridiculous because my argument says exactly zero about ‘prohibition’. The human brain does not stop developing until around the mid to late 20s. This is not an “if” it’s a fact. It may be inconvenient for you, but that’s a personal problem. The teenage brain is a mess. You may want to use or ignore that information to make arguments about prohibiting behavior, but do not project that onto me: my position, stated twice, in fact, is that legal cutoff ages are arbitrary and meaningless.

So I’ll repeat it in the hopes that you’ll pay attention this time: there is no substantive difference between a kid who is 17 years and 11 months old and one who is 18. However, the former’s appearance in porn would be illegal — what for? Do kids suddenly become emotionally and cognitively mature on the very day they turn 18? Obviously not.

The age of majority cutoff is there because it has to be somewhere. And wherever it is moved, it is going to be arbitrary and therefore problematic. So my position is and will continue to be that knowing what we know about human development, the best we can do is counsel young people and guide them towards positive outcomes, limit the damage from their more ill-advised choices, inform them that as legal adults they are obligated to own the results of their decisions, and urge restraint from those who would exploit kids’ relative lack of sophistication. My position is not prohibit this and prohibit that — that’s nonsense you dreamed up.

@DK: You introduced cognitive development as a basis for agreement with the teacher. To wit: “The male brain does not stop maturing until age 25-30. 18 year olds are legal adults, but most do not have the cognitive or emotional capacity to make an informed decision to appear in porn, a choice with far reaching outcomes.” I merely offered extrapolations of your argument. Try reading more closely.
As for prohibitions, I understood your position to be in agreement with the teacher, ie, that legal adult HS students should be prevented from doing porn- on the basis of cognitive development. Did you not intend to say this?
You go off on my use of “if” as if I am questioning your statements re cognitive development. As a teacher, you should be well acquainted with logic. My statement assumes the truth of your claim and raises its potential implications (as in “if this is true, then….”). You’re awfully thin-skinned, no?

The school had no business kicking him out. If it was a private school, they play by their own rules and can be as prejudiced as the wish. A public high school should not kick out a student for pursuing a legal form of employment.

An 18 year old man can vote and be drafted into the military. He is a legal adult and should be treated as such. Ruining his academic career is not going to do him any favors. The high school is violating his civil rights by punishing him for a legal career choice.

@DK: By your logic, teens should not be able to vote, buy property, or join the military. Since their brains are not fully developed, they should not be allowed to marry before age 25. They should not be allowed to choose college versus career. In fact, they should not be allowed to pick their own college. They should not be allowed to leave their parents until age 25.

@Fang: Sean Cody does have a responsibility to its staff, and they show it by providing insurance and befits when appropriate, and HIV testing before employment. I’m not sure why you think that Cody, Inc needs to go above and beyond what any employer would do. They’re no better or worse than any average employer. As for exploitation, what media company doesn’t exploit free publicity? And as an aside, the email suggests that they are providing “Noel” with legal representation. As such, they’re going above and beyond.

The teacher has a point but it’s on the larger issue of porn and consent. It ignores why “Noel” did porn in the first place. It wasn’t for sex or the thrill of exhibitionism. He did to help pay his mom’s bills. If I’m not mistaken, their house was facing foreclosure, and there was no other source of quick money. If you’re against his participation, what would have been your solution? Just let the house foreclose?

I think this teacher was way out of line. Hey while you’re at it Teach, you got a cure for AIDS too Mr. Nobody Should Have To Be Defined By Their Mistakes?

Noel is an adult, and “adult” implies personal responsibility. Otherwise, wouldn’t Noel have even had a right mind to call it age discrimination? Yeah. So, shows how stupid teachers really are afterall.

Porn companies don’t give a shit about the ramifications of the performers all they care about is making money. That’s pretty obvious. Many of these young men don’t realize that doing this so young may cause problems down the road depending on what career they choose. Also there is no real money in porn anymore with so many doing it and all the amateur websites so for 300 bucks or so that they pay these kids it’s not worth it.

@da90027: I’m not sure how that is different from any media company, i.e. MTV, ABC, Time Warner, 20th Century Fox or indeed, any company. Sure, there are socially conscious companies that proactively takes special care of their employees but that is the vast minority. Most do the minimum of what is legally required and leave the rest to the individual. And that’s probably the way it should be.

As an extreme counterexample, look at China. Once you join a state-sponsored sports team, especially the Olympic team, you’ve basically sold your life away. Sadly, for most, the decision was parental, not theirs. Everything is paid for, including an education, housing, food, etc. But you’re seen as an investment, and as such, they are indeed concerned for your welfare. Everything is tightly controlled, including your diet and lifestyle. I believe a portion of future earnings is given back to the state. When Yao Ming signed to play basketball in America, for example, a portion of his money went back to his sponsors (I can’t remember if that was the government or a private team).

As for Sean Cody (and Corbin Fisher, etc), they provide HIV testing for all performers and benefits for longtime employees, i.e. health insurance. I’m not sure what more you want. Childcare and free meals, like Google?

What you’re ignoring are the specifics of this case and the participants. First, the money is nowhere as bad as you claim. Dakota Cochrane, for example, made over $90,000 from Sean Cody to pay for his education. All travel expenses for his sessions were paid, and probably lodging as well. Not bad for a month or two of work. Can you think of another legal venue where someone without experience gets paid that much? Now consider the plight of “Noel.” His mother’s house was close to foreclosure. What alternatives would you suggest? Do you know of any other legal means to quick cash for those with poor credit? Clearly there isn’t, hence the foreclosure crisis. How about other emergency needs, i.e. legal and medical?

Sure there are consequences. Cochrane, who is married with children, has expressed regret. But that doesn’t negate the fact that the money served its purpose — a legitimate purpose, an investment (his education). In his case, he might have been able to take a loan. BUt in “Noel”‘s case, that was not an option. And that’s the key here. Porn is an OPTION. It may not be ideal, and it certainly isn’t for everyone. But why deny someone of that choice? Why judge him/her harshly when you’re not in their shoes?

@Billy Budd: LOL. I particularly enjoyed “Mountain Getaway Day 4” where four guys “make love” to him simultaneously. The other four vids of him getting plowed – er, “made love” to – were pretty hot as well.
Seriously, people, get off the cross, and off your moral high horse. Anyone who believes what you see in porn is an expression of anything uplifting or artistic needs a reality check.

There’s a lot of anti sex comments here. Sex is not evil, its beautiful. This is being discussed as if an 18 year old has gotten into the bank robbing field or something. He’s cute and he’s making people happy.

THE FACT THAT YES IT S LEGAL REQUIRES THIS QUESTION DOES IT FEEL UNETHICAL, HAVE YOU SAT DOWN WITH AN 18 YEAR OLD LIVING IN MOM’MS BASEMENT? I JUST DO NOT FEEL 18 YEAR OLDS HAVE THE MENTAL FACILITATES TO REALLY EVALUATE THE RIGHTS AND WRONGS OF HIRING OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL? IS THERE NO SHAME FACTOR?WHILE PRETENDING IT YIELDS NO REPERCUSSIONS.., second COMPANIES LIKE YOURS RUN THROUGH YOUNG BOY LIKE WATER OVER NIAGARA FALLS. ALMOST RECORD BREAKING ADDICTION NUMBERS WHEN COMPARED TO VIRTUALLY ANY OTHER INDUSTRY SHOULD GIVE YOU SOME IMPETUS TO THINK IN THE LONG TERM. THESE ARE JUST THE KINDS OF STUNTS THAT FUEL IGNITE HOMOPHOBIA WHILE YOU ADVERTISE HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR PORN SR. OF YOUR ACTR HAVE TO SELL THEIR BODY TO YOUR GRANFATHER TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON.

WHEN YOU START POOING STUDIO MONEY TOGETHER FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION THEN DEFEND YOUR SELF ITS BLOODMONEY

@litper: I too am so tired of hearing all the old Queens CONSTANTLY talk about G4P. You’re are really stupid if you think all these porno stars are only doing it for the money, that is just what they want you to think. Gay men are so enamored with straight men that it makes me furious. It is a fetish and nothing more. None of these men look like hustlers they are all too nice looking and well taken care of. It is a sign of low self-esteem which gay people so often have, the wanting to be, or in this case, fantasizing about straight men. And to him doing porn in HS, he is 18 and can do what he wants, that is the law, and just when should we stop trying to “protect” him? At 32 maybe? He might not be ready then either. That’s why we have an age of consent.

@SeanBear: So then we should stop “worrying” about the “kids” at 19? Get a life, some people NEVER learn and repeat their mistakes over and over, perhaps we should figure out who these “vulnerable” people are and put them in treatment too. EVERYONE is free to choose their destiny when they are an adult.